


Three Truths and a Lie

by TheKeyboardNinja



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Flashback Moments, Post-17x07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22638493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKeyboardNinja/pseuds/TheKeyboardNinja
Summary: Three real laughs and one fake. The truth was in the details. [Post 17x07]
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	Three Truths and a Lie

> _“I don’t laugh like that.”_
> 
> _“Yeah, that’s right you don’t.”_

The quick, snide comment made at the fancy Italian restaurant where an incidental double date with Nick’s girlfriend Elena and her son Richard and Ellie held a lot of truth behind it. Ellie’s laughter at Richard’s terrible joke about food safety at Camp Pendleton in San Diego was pure saccharin, enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. Especially Nick’s. It was a comment so quick, yet full of truth that it sparked a question from Elena about how long they had worked together. It was evident that there was something else there, some unknown history that hadn’t been brought forth yet.

_Two Years Ago_

It had been a year since Qasim died and a month since the undercover case in Norfolk. Most of the office had ducked out early on that Wednesday for Valentine’s day. Gibbs was upstairs talking to the Director and Reeves was in a meeting with his contacts at MI6.

“I’m going to finish the rest of these from home,” Ellie exasperatedly sighed, pushing herself away from her desk. “I’ll see you all tomorrow. Tim, why are you even still here?”

“Delilah is working late, and the twins have the flu, Delilah’s mom established a containment parameter.”

“Ah, of course. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I think she’s hiding a hot date from us, Tim. She’s asking skittish,” Nick snarked from his desk. “Who is he?”

“Fine, it’s Abby. She’s going to come over and continue the new Valentines’ Day tradition of watching Aliens and having salmon piccata delivered.”

“Aliens?” Nick questioned.

Ellie chuckled almost wistfully.

“Do I even want to know?” Tim questioned.

“Remember two years ago, right after my divorce…” Ellie started telling her story but started chuckling again telling the story. She had gotten Tony the Wizards ticket he wanted, and he had gifted her dinner and a movie. It was a moment ripe for tradition making.

“That movie gives me the creeps,” Nick shuttered from the desk.

“Good night, the both of you,” Ellie laughed, as she through her backpack over her shoulder and headed to the elevator.

Although, he didn’t notice at the time, that was one of the first real laughs Nick had heard from Ellie, but it was also just the beginning.

_One Year Ago_

There wasn’t a defining moment when they became de facto running partners. It must have started when they were training for the marathon with Quinn and McGee, but after Alex went on leave to take care of her mom and McGee got busy with the twins—it had soon just become the two of them.

They would alternate the neighborhood they ran in and today’s route was in Ellie’s neighborhood.

Nick was known as a fast runner, but Ellie was stubborn and determined to keep up. He would speed up and look back and practically taunt her. They slowed down at the intersection, waiting for the light to change, when Ellie caught up with him again.

“You are the worst, you know that right?”

“I’m a machine, you can’t slow me down.”

Ellie laughed in response, placing her hands on her hips to catch her breath, “Now where have I heard that before?”

The light at the intersection changed and Nick bolted forward. This interaction between them was light and a change of pace in the grief that had followed Reeves’ death.

_Six Months Ago_

Getting the Comic-Con tickets was no easy task, especially after Nick gave away the original ones they had. Thanks to Delilah, they had VIP tickets and in penance for his previous mistakes Nick was not able to escape his coworkers from dragging him with them to the event.

“This is a lot to unpack,” Nick said, looking around at the costumed people around the convention hall. “Also, this lanyard does not go with the look I’m going for here.”

“No one cares, Nick, you brought this on yourself. I heard what you did,” Delilah commented as she went by him.

“It was for the good of the case,” Nick defended himself, waving his arms up and down. “It worked, did it not?”

Nick had questioned to no one as they all had surged forward in their pursuit of the main convention hall. He sighed and followed them down the corridor, what did he get himself into?

The moment had happened so fast, no one had seen it coming--but a man dressed as Deadpool had appeared out of nowhere and scared Nick shitless. A high octave scream had emerged from him and he had jumped into both Ellie and Tim, who were waiting in line for an autograph.

Tim laughed bemusedly, but Ellie, well she had absolutely lost it. She was laughing so hard; she was belly laughing with tears in her eyes.

“I’m glad my pain amuses you,” Nick commented. They still hadn’t really talked since he had woken up with no memory in Virginia Beach a couple of weeks ago.

“Sorry, sorry, I just can’t believe you didn’t see him before he did the cartwheel.”

She barely finished her sentence before starting to laugh again. It was a real, knock out drag out laugh. Nick was almost put off because he had never seen her so relaxed and carefree in the time they had known one another.

_Present Day_

That complete meltdown at Comic-Con was why he was so put off by her fake laugh at dinner that day. Everyone had to hear the complete falseness in the tone or was he just going crazy? His snide comment on the matter seemed pertinent in the moment, but in retrospect it gave him away.

As soon as Elena had posed the question about the length of their relationship, both of their phones chirped. They had a lead on a case. Saved by the bell for the time being.

The respite he got was short lived. Elena brought up the comment again in their phone call that night when she ended things. The truth was—well, _it’s complicated_.

**Author's Note:**

> I am most definitely haunted by the laugh in the beginning of 17x14 that I had to go back to the fake laugh with Richard.


End file.
